Commercial tomato greenhouse procurement — start from your yield target
Size a commercial tomato project from the yield target, not from an area guess. Indicative annual marketable yield runs roughly 12–25 kg/m² in a basic tunnel, 25–45 kg/m² in a medium-tech greenhouse and 45–75 kg/m² in a high-tech high-wire glasshouse with climate control and CO₂. Divide your target tonnage by the yield band of the technology level you can realistically operate, add 10–15% for paths, headland and technical rooms, then specify structure, climate, fertigation and automation in one RFQ so every supplier bids the same scope.
Tomato is the most technology-sensitive greenhouse crop: the same structure can produce a third of its potential if gutter height, climate control, screens or CO₂ are cut from the specification. That is why the area comes second and the yield target comes first.
Use the planner below to convert your target tonnage into a covered area, plant population and water demand, then carry that configuration straight into a supplier-neutral RFQ. Nothing here ranks suppliers or promises a yield — it defines the scope that qualified suppliers should bid against.
Start from your tomato yield target
Enter the annual tonnage you need and the technology level you can realistically operate. The planner derives an indicative area, plant population and water demand, and carries the whole configuration into the supplier-neutral RFQ Builder.
Yield band 25–45 kg/m²/year
Mid-band area plus 12% circulation and technical space
2.2–3.2 plants/m² planning density
15–30 litres per kg of produce
Higher gutter, motorised ventilation, shading or cooling, climate computer and substrate-based fertigation with EC/pH control.
- Gutter height ≥ 4.5 m with high-wire crop support
- Motorised roof ventilation, shade screen and cooling strategy defined for the design day
- Climate computer with sensors, alarms and remote access
- Substrate slabs or channels, gutters, drain collection and drain-water analysis points
- Fertigation unit with EC/pH control, dosing channels, mixing tanks and recirculation
- Irrigation network: filtration, mainline, dripper lines, pressure compensation
- Water treatment and buffer storage sized to peak crop plus cooling demand
Indicative planning figures only — no yield, cost or performance guarantee. Your agronomist and the qualified suppliers you select confirm the final design.
Tomato yield planning bands by technology level
Planning bands drawn from widely published commercial protected-cultivation practice, used to size a tender. They are not a guarantee — genetics, climate, water quality, agronomy and management decide the outcome. Cycle pattern: Long indeterminate cycle of roughly 9–11 months in high-wire production, or two shorter 4–6 month cycles in simpler structures.
| Technology level | Indicative annual yield | What it typically includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic tunnel / naturally ventilated | 12–25 kg/m²/year | Poly tunnel or multi-span with natural ventilation, insect screening and simple drip irrigation. Lowest CAPEX, highest exposure to climate extremes. |
| Medium-tech climate-controlled | 25–45 kg/m²/year | Higher gutter, motorised ventilation, shading or cooling, climate computer and substrate-based fertigation with EC/pH control. |
| High-tech high-wire glasshouse | 45–75 kg/m²/year | Venlo-type glass or high-spec plastic, full climate control, energy and shade screens, heating, CO₂ dosing, drain recirculation with disinfection, optional supplementary lighting. |
Agronomy fixed before any supplier is contacted
- Variety type: indeterminate beefsteak, truss, cocktail or cherry — each changes density, support and labour
- Rootstock and grafting decision, and who supplies the young plants
- Target market and quality specification, which sets the grading and packing scope
- Number of cycles per year and the planned crop calendar
- Pollination method: bumblebees or mechanical, and the implication for pesticide policy
- IPM strategy and the screening level it requires
Site data every bidder must receive
- Hourly or monthly climate data: temperature, humidity, radiation, wind
- Design outside temperature the cooling and heating must be sized against
- Water source, flow rate and a full water analysis including EC, sodium and bicarbonate
- Electrical connection capacity, tariff and reliability of supply
- Topography, soil bearing capacity and drainage
- Local permitting, building code, wind and snow load requirements
What the tomato RFQ must cover
Every bidder should answer the same lines. When one supplier prices a structure and another prices a production system, the comparison is meaningless — this is the scope that makes proposals comparable.
Structure and covering
- Span, gutter height, column grid and structural loads
- Covering material, light transmission and diffusion, and expected service life
- Foundations, concrete floor or ground cover, gutters and rainwater collection
Climate and energy
- Ventilation area as a percentage of floor area after screen derating
- Cooling strategy and installed capacity at the stated design condition
- Heating capacity, distribution and fuel or energy source
- Screens, CO₂ dosing and, where relevant, supplementary lighting with installed kW
Water, fertigation and crop system
- Water treatment, storage volume and pump station at peak demand
- Fertigation unit capacity, dosing channels, EC/pH control and recirculation percentage
- Substrate type and volume, gutters, drain collection and disinfection
- Crop support system, hooks, trolleys and rail infrastructure
Commercial and handover
- Delivery terms, inland transport, offloading, cranage and site accommodation
- Installation supervision or full installation, and who provides local labour
- Commissioning at design-day conditions, training and as-built documentation
- Warranty per component group, spare parts package and in-country service response
Where tomato quotations most often go wrong
- Yield quoted by a supplier as a guarantee without stating climate, genetics or management assumptions
- Gutter height reduced to save CAPEX, capping the achievable high-wire yield permanently
- Screens, CO₂ or drain recirculation moved to 'optional', making a low bid look competitive
- Water treatment and buffer storage excluded although the analysis shows they are mandatory
- Grading, packing and cold chain missing from scope although the market specification requires them
Financing note
SeedMatchGroup is not a bank, lender, credit provider or financial adviser, and quotes no rates, approvals or commitments. Where a qualified commercial project requires funding, it may be introduced to independent third-party financing providers, who control all eligibility, pricing and decisions.
Tomato procurement questions buyers ask
SeedMatchGroup is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. It does not manufacture, engineer, install or guarantee agronomic performance. Yield, water and plant-density figures on this page are planning bands used to size a tender — the qualified independent suppliers, agronomists and contractors you select confirm the final design and any performance commitment.
The definition checklist that makes proposals comparable in the first place.
Section-by-section specification structure for a professional tender.
What actually moves CAPEX per m² — country, crop, loads, climate strategy, automation.
CAPEX, energy, water, labour, replacement and cost per kg over the asset life.
Normalise price per m² and flag missing scope across up to three quotations.
Normalise ventilation, cooling, humidity and water/energy OPEX before price.
Crop, climate, area, growing system and automation defined step by step.
One structured scope sent to qualified suppliers, so every proposal is comparable.